Walking in the Dark
by Sadie Dragonfire
Summary: Daisuke has always Known Things...even if no one ever believes him. But after an encounter with a mysterious boy, Takeru is learning that what Daisuke knows is far more real and dangerous than either of them ever suspected. AU, yaoi
1. Chapter 1

**Walking In The Dark**

**Disclaimer:** Digimon and its associated characters, even when set in an AU world, aren't mine. No money made, spent, or rolled in naked.

**Warning:** shounen ai, i.e.: boys loving boys and wanting to get it on with said boys. Vampires, werewolves, and psychics oh my. Beware OOC and a very overused plot cliché.

**Pairings:** Various combinations of Daisuke, Ken, and Takeru. Twisted Takeru/Hikari, Takeru/Iori, and Miyako/Koushiro

**Notes:** I have decided that it is an Unwritten Rule of Digimon fandom that **everyone** has to write a one Vampire Kensuke fic. (Actually, this is just an excuse to take an overdone fandom cliché and try to do something interesting with it.)

Comments, critizism, and over-ripe fruit thrown at high velocity always appreciated.

* * *

"A lot of a horror stories start out this way," Daisuke said conversationally, ducking under the string of barbed wire Takeru held up for him.

"How so?" asked Takeru, letting the wire bounce back into place and following Daisuke.

"Oh, you know; couple of kids, middle of the night," Daisuke elaborated, "An abandoned…um, well, field in this case." He made a dramatic arm gesture over the tight cluster of suburban homes. "And there's an abandoned warehouse just a few streets over and you know how dangerous those are! Potentially filled with axe wielding murderers or maybe legions of the undead looking for a meal!"

Takeru sighed, sidestepping a thick cluster of weeds. "Daisuke, it's barely eight o'clock, hardly the middle of the night. Besides, we always cut through here on our way home. This area is perfectly safe."

"But the warehouse—"

"Was only 'abandoned' last month and is currently being renovated," Takeru said, rolling his eyes at his friend, "Give it up."

Daisuke pouted, hunching under the weight of his backpack. "You always spoil my fun," he whined. Takeru only laughed at him.

They crossed the field and left it to join the little footpath that ran behind the houses, heading in a diagonal fashion for their own apartments. Their parents had been friends since high school and had lived in the same apartment complex for over ten years. The two boys weren't the best of friends, but they had fun together and provided company when traveling home after a late basketball practice (or football practice in Daisuke's case).

"What's got you thinking about horror stories anyways?" Takeru said.

Daisuke turned serious eyes onto the taller boy. "That new freshman is a werewolf," he said with complete sincerity. Takeru stared at him before laughing.

"Hida?" he demanded, sniggering, "The short brunette that all the teachers love and think is Gods gift of the perfect student? The one that just kinda cowered when the senior started razing him?" Takeru shook his head. "That doesn't seem like typical werewolf behavior."

"I bet it's a front," Daisuke said, frowning thoughtfully, completely unperturbed by Takeru's scorn. He was used to other people not agreeing with his ideas. Just went to show how oblivious everyone else was. "I mean, if you were some evil monster, would you go around announcing it?"

"No, maybe not," Takeru conceded after a moments thought, "But that doesn't mean I'd go around letting people beat me up either. Cause that way, you're still noticeable. See, if I was one of the evil undead, I would try to blend in as much as possible."

"Werewolves aren't undead, just evil," Daisuke said with the weariness of someone who knows everything and is bored of everyone else's ignorance.

"But I'm right, aren't I?"

Daisuke frowned at him. "That's assuming you'd know how to blend in. Some werewolves are born that way; what if they never learn how to interact with humans? They'd always be a freak wherever they go."

"Then why send them to human school?" Takeru said, smirking.

"How should I know?" Daisuke demanded, shoving the blond boy when he started to chuckle. "Do I look like a werewolf to you?"

Takeru walked backwards, eyeing the shorter redhead critically. "Hmm…"

"Hey, shut up!" Daisuke yelled, aiming a punch that was cheerfully dodged.

Soon, their apartment loamed up before them, a dark square against the star speckled sky. There was a brief fight over who got to unlock the door, of which Daisuke was the ultimate victor, before the pair charged inside. They ignored the elevator, racing each other up the stairs at full speed.

Daisuke was in the lead. He looked over his shoulder at the lagging Takeru. "Loser! You call yourself a—ooof!" He slammed into the person who'd been walking down the stairs.

The sudden impact knocked their feet out from under them, making them land hard on the treads and start to slither down. Daisuke twisted and lashed out, grabbing the railing to keep from sliding further. He found himself leaning over the other person, a boy no older than himself, who tilted his head up to look at Daisuke. Before an apology could spill out, he was instantly trapped by a pair of fathomless violet eyes.

There was forever in those eyes. Beautiful, mysterious, and breathtakingly dangerous. Amused eyes; they read his soul and fond it lacking. In that moment, Daisuke felt more worthless and insignificant than he'd had in his entire life previously. A voice came to him from a great distance, nothing against the force of that vast gaze. Then, the eyes moved, releasing him.

"Daisuke! Don't just lay there!" Takeru was saying, and Daisuke felt his friend's hands around his upper arm, dragging him backwards. "Are you okay?" he asked, addressing both Daisuke and his victim.

"Fine," Daisuke mumbled, shaking off his daze. The other boy was rising gracefully to his feet, long dark hair hanging over his face.

"I'm all right, just startled," the boy said, brushing off his jacket with slim hands. He was almost as tall as Takeru and thinner, with a pretty, narrow face framed by chin length bangs. Daisuke felt his body stir in response to the boy's beauty and flushed in confusion. What was this?

"Are you sure, you took a pretty hard fall," Takeru said, pulling Daisuke out of the way. Daisuke scowled at being manhandled and violently shook off Takeru's hands. What, Takeru mouthed at him in bafflement.

The indigo haired boy smiled slowly, his elegantly slanted eyes glimmering with humor. "Trust me, I'm fine." He extended one pale hand. "My name is Ken," he said.

Daisuke reached past Takeru and took Ken's hand before the blond could. He shook it firmly. "Motomiya Daisuke. I'm really sorry about running into you like that, 'fraid I wasn't paying attention. Kind of a natural state for me. Oh yeah, and this is Takaishi Takeru." The last said dismissively. Ken's smile broadened as he accepted Takeru's hand next.

"How do ya do," murmured Takeru, staring at Ken. Their handshake seemed to linger longer than necessary. Daisuke felt an irrational surge of jealousy. Damnit, Takaishi was ruining his chances at impressing the new kid!

"So, are you new here?" Daisuke asked with his usual energy, nudging Takeru aside to get closer to Ken. "I didn't notice anyone moving in recently, but I'm sure I haven't seen you around before."

Ken shook his head. "Visiting friends. I live…somewhere else." Another slow, enigmatic smile heated the blood in Daisuke's veins. The unexpected reaction made him fidget nervously; he'd never responded this way to another guy before.

"Yeah, uh, well it's a good building I guess," Daisuke babbled, "I mean, the people who live here don't have any complaints. Neither do I! 'Cause you know, I live here too. Hey, you watch football?" He finished desperately. He could hear, just hear Takeru rolling his eyes.

"Yes. I even play it occasionally," said Ken, swaying close enough to Daisuke that the redhead could feel his breath on his lips. It sent a shiver through his body. He leaned back uneasily, frightened by the feeling. Takeru instantly shifted to fill the space.

"What about basketball?"

"Hmm, not so much," Ken shrugged, and Daisuke had the satisfaction of seeing Takeru's face fall. "But I'll watch any sport with the right…motivation." He let the word trail off suggestively, then continued on smoothly. "Not to offend, but I need to get going. It was nice to meet you Takeru, Daisuke."

"Oh right sure sorry," the two babbled over each other's words, plastering themselves against the wall to keep from interfering with the royal boy's passage.

"Be seeing you," Ken promised silkily as he walked down the steps. They watched him go breathlessly, rushing to peer over the edge of the railing when he descended out of sight. A short while later, they heard the front door open and close.

Minutes passed. Daisuke shifted in discomfort. What the hell was he doing? Staring after that guy like some…some…some love sick girl! He glanced at Takeru the same time Takeru glanced at him. Their eyes met—and both burst into forced, nervous laughter.

"Race ya!" Daisuke blurted as the awkward sound tapered off. He set off for his apartment, disregarding Takeru's feeble warnings to be careful.


	2. Chapter 2

**Walking In The Dark**

**Disclaimer:** All that was stated in Ch.1 remains true in ch. 2

* * *

"Totally a werewolf," Daisuke muttered to himself, chewing half-heartedly at the tasteless school issued lunch. At the other end of the cafeteria sat the freshman, Hida Iori, mechanically eating his bento and not looking at anything going on around him. "Look at those shifty eyes and that snarling face. Who does he think he's fooling?" Daisuke grinned at his awesome observational skills.

His tablemates were involved in dissecting the latest action movie, something Daisuke only partially listened too. He hadn't seen it yet and didn't want the plot ruined.

Eventually, he grew tired of eyeing the school werewolf, letting his attention wander about the room. He spotted Takeru, sitting contentedly in the middle of his fan club. Which mostly consisted of guys from the basketball team and girls who wanted to date guys on the basketball team. Sad, really.

The girl sitting next to him gestured wildly, drawing Daisuke's attention to her hand. Light flickered off one finger; she was wearing a ring with some purple stone. What was it called? Amethyst. Nice color. It reminded him of something…yeah, a pair of eyes. Beautiful, slanted eyes in a flawless face. A face with an elegant mouth that curved sensuously as its owner smirked at him.

He found himself staring as it came closer to him, exhaling sweet breath that made his skin tingle. Arms slid around his neck and a soft, warm weight settled into his lap. Those wine red lips ghosted past the sensitive line of his jaw as the dark head bowed toward him. Daisuke sighed low and leaned back, a hot flush of lounging rising through his body and making his toes curl.

The arms tightened, drawing him closer to the sleek curve of a lithe, toned body. Midnight dark hair brushed his cheek and his squeezed his eyes closed in desperation when wet heat glided along the base of his neck –

"Daisuke!"

His chair was shoved hard, nearly knocking him to the floor. Daisuke sat up fast, gripping the edge of the table to keep from falling over. He was still in the school cafeteria, surrounded by his friends. His lap was empty. The girl who'd shook him was laughing, hand coming up to cover her mouth. "Daisuke you dork, you fell asleep!"

"Uhh," he said, dazed. He'd been dreaming? It had felt so real! A blush splashed across his cheeks to realize he'd been having that kind of dream at school. "Heh heh, guess I didn't get enough sleep last night. Probably cause my stupid sister snored all – "

Daisuke had been reaching up to rub at the tingle on the side of his neck and now he froze as fingers encountered a damp smear just above his collarbone. Cold shock jolted down his spine and coiled sickly in his stomach.

Mumbling a hasty excuse, he pushed away from the table and ran from the lunchroom, not slowing down until he reached the boy's restroom. The stall door cracked into the graffiti covered wall as he fell to his knees in front of the toilet and brought up his lunch.

"Ugh," he groaned after the heaves had stopped and leaned his aching head against the wall, "What the hell was that."

His face felt hot and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He hadn't had an attack like this in years, not since he was eight and the demonic soul-eater had besieged his elementary school for weeks. (Said soul-eater being a gawky and painfully shy middle-school aged boy with a stutter who'd been doing community service in Daisuke's class.) The doctors had called them "panic attacks" and prescribed drugs that his father pushed on him with relief and his mother cheerfully flushed down the toilet whenever her husband's back was turned.

Daisuke wiped his mouth again and sat up straight, pushing the handle to send the ugly mess right down the drain. "Gotta be the werewolf," he muttered, "Evil things are always messing with people." A thought occurred. "That asshole, he's probably trying to eat my soul too!"

Not that he'd ever heard of werewolves eating souls, but it was hard to tell the depth the Legions of Darkness would go to.

He went to the cracked porcelain sink to wash his face and rinse the bile out of his mouth. The first burst of cold water was a relief, clearing away some of the fuzziness and soothing the throbbing in his head. He gurgled loudly and spat, looking up at the mirror to see how his hair had weathered the experience.

Exotic purple eyes framed by pale skin gleamed at him darkly from the distorted glass, wine red lips lifting over white teeth. Daisuke –

"Shit!"

He threw himself back from the sink and crashed into the nearest bathroom stall, sliding down to the floor. A few quick pants, and then he yelled brazenly, "Its not going to work, you jerk! I'm not scared at all!"

The door into the restroom opened suddenly and Daisuke nearly jumped out of his skin. Takeru stood holding the door open with one hand, hair ablaze with the light of the sun, expression confused and slightly concerned.

"You okay, Daisuke? I saw you run out earlier," he said, entering to offer the fallen boy his hand. It took Daisuke a moment to let go from where he'd grabbed over his heart in sudden terror and accept the help up.

"Yeah," he said and swallowed as his stomach gave a threatening roll, "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess the leftovers from breakfast suddenly caught up with me. I knew those boiled eggs tasted funny…"

"Spare me the details," Takeru said with grimace, waving his hand, "You sure you don't want to go to the school nurse?"

"Nah, I'm okay. Besides she'd make me hang around the office all day because my parents told the school not to let me go home sick anymore," Daisuke said, pushing past Takeru and heading out into the hall.

"About time they wised up," Takeru said dryly and followed him.

Despite his assurances of being all right, Daisuke spent the rest of day feeling out of sorts and uncomfortable, like an indefinable itch right where he couldn't scratch it. His mind kept drifting back to the face he'd seen in the mirror and earlier in the cafeteria; something about it was disturbingly familiar and the thought that he'd seen it before, and it had left enough of an impression to imprint on his painfully poor memory, disturbed him greatly.

Among other things, it certainly put an added edge to the usual daily joy of attending high school.

He and Takeru made it home early after final period, as neither of them had practice that afternoon, and dinner at the Motomiya residence was as loud and active as always.

Daisuke ended up in a shouting match with his mother about the televised football game from last week; a fight that had them on their feet and leaning over the table to get into each other's faces. Both his mother and sister supported teams he hated, and vise versa, so each football season their home became a battleground. His father watched it all in mild bemusement and his sister Jun threw in unneeded side comments.

Once the table had been cleared, they engaged in the nightly conflict over what one-hour show they got to watch before bed which ended as it always did – with his father taking the remote and turning the news on.

Daisuke fell asleep within the first ten minutes, rousing only when Jun kicked him in the head.

Later, face washed and teeth brushed, Daisuke fell into bed and rolled over into the arms of the person waiting for him.


	3. Chapter 3

Walking in the Dark

By Sadie DragonFire

**Disclaimer:** All that was stated in part 1, remains true in part 3.

* * *

There were a lot of things Takeru had gotten used to when it came to having Motomiya Daisuke as a friend.

Being woken out of a sound sleep by said boy shaking his shoulders and screaming, "A vampire just tried to screw me!" just wasn't one of them.

Letting loose his own howl of surprise and horror, Takeru clumsily slugged Daisuke in the face. It wasn't a very strong blow, but it was enough to get Daisuke to shut up and stop with the shaking.

"Daisuke! What are you doing! How the hell did you get into my house?" Takeru demanded, sitting up and flicking on the lamp. Daisuke had one hand on his jaw, normally tan skin shock white in the thin light and eyes unnaturally wide.

"A vampire, Takeru!" Daisuke said in an urgent whisper, dropping his hand to wrap his arms around himself. He was dressed only in a pair of pajama bottoms and didn't seem to care that Takeru had just punched him. "I saw the fangs and everything! It was that guy."

Daisuke shivered suddenly, fingers digging into his upper arms. "The one with the eyes."

Letting out a groan, Takeru bowed his head and rubbed at the ache in his temple. "Oh of course, him. He just stands out amongst all the eyeless guys we know. I should have realized that matching pair of pupils was a sign of – "

"He wants me, but he'll take you too, because he can," Daisuke said in a very small voice that none-the-less cut through Takeru's sarcasm. It didn't sound like Daisuke; in all the years Takeru had known him, he'd never heard that quiet, spine chilling certainty from his friend.

Takeru's head jerked up in time to see Daisuke's face twist before he darted off to the bathroom. Pushing back the blankets, Takeru scrambled after him, finding him leaning over the sink and gagging. He smelled of sweat even from the doorway.

"Did you throw up?" Takeru asked softly.

Daisuke spit saliva and turned on the faucet. "No," he said, cupping a handful of water to splash his face with.

A door opened down the hall. "Takeru, is something wrong?"

"No, mom," Takeru called back, "Daisuke just had a nightmare and needed a hug."

"And cake!" Daisuke added, voice echoing off the porcelain, "Homemade cake fixes everything!"

The woman sighed deeply. "There's some in the fridge," she said with weary resignation and closed her bedroom door. Takeru shut the bathroom door as well, to create an extra barrier against their noise.

"This is the second time today," Takeru said worriedly, taking a towel off the rack and passing it to Daisuke. The small apartment bathroom felt hot and crowded with both of them in it. "You should tell someone."

"Why? People never listen when I tell them what the problem is," Daisuke said reasonably, "They'll say its stress or something stupid, meanwhile that vampire is stalking me. I could be killed before anyone else realizes I'm in danger!"

Takeru sighed and dragged a hand through his tangled hair, mouth quirking in a sardonic smile. Daisuke was one of a kind. "Okay, okay, don't tell anyone about your randomly throwing up. But you gotta at least tell me what happened," he said and cocked his head, "Though I'm not too sure about you running to me after having a wet dream about a guy."

"He was forcing himself on me!" Daisuke said, wadding up the towel he'd been using to dry his hands and tossing it in the sink, "And hey, vampire! I think you're missing the key factor here."

Rolling his eyes, Takeru shoved open the door again and stepped out into the dark hall. "Come on, before we wake up my parents again."

"Yeah, but first things first," Daisuke said, pushing past Takeru and heading to the kitchen.

Later, armed with a fork and a slice of Takeru's mother's chocolate cake each, they sat on opposite ends of the bed while Daisuke told his story.

* * *

The realization that he wasn't alone in his normally empty bed didn't shock Daisuke. It should have. He had the fleeting feeling that really, he should be stark raving _terrified_.

But before that thought could translate into an action, a hot mouth settled at the base of his neck and the fear was swept away in a rush of sweet warmth that flooded his veins like syrup. A sound escaped his throat; not a cry for help, but a needy, hungry plea he'd never heard from himself before. His back arched into the slim body that was holding him down. Suddenly clumsy hands fumbled for purchase; clenching into the stiff fabric of a starched jacket and getting tangled in silken hair.

"Shhh," purred a rich voice near his ear, "Not too much just yet." The person sprawled across Daisuke lifted his head and smiled, unperturbed by the hand fisted desperately in his hair.

It was Ken, of course. The boy he'd run into on the stairs; the boy who'd been tormenting him all day. Daisuke had always known. Beneath the sticky pleasure that fuzzed his vision and made his body feel heavy and slow and wanton, his mind screamed in protest.

"I have been looking for you," Ken said in an affectionate, teasing way that didn't match the cruel slant to his beautiful mouth. His amethyst eyes were wide and dark and mad. "For a very long time. And suddenly you – "

He cut himself off and closed his lips, wet and hot, on the point of Daisuke's chin, narrow hips rocking in a tight roll. Daisuke cried out again and clung tighter to Ken as the world spun even further out of control. The bed around them felt like an endless plain of faded red sheets, like another planet entirely. He was going to get lost in it, never to return.

" – you come running unknowingly to me," Ken continued, transferring his attention to the patch of collarbone left exposed by Daisuke's nightshirt. He seemed to be talking more to himself than to Daisuke, a soft whisper that faded into intelligible mumbles as he moved from collarbone to chest. Cool hands left trails of fire as they traveled up Daisuke's sides.

Ken's slow, tempting slink down toward hip territory forced Daisuke to release his stranglehold on the other boy's hair, a few shimmering indigo lengths left twisted around his fingers. Ken didn't seem to mind, too interested in pushing up the worn gym shirt to tongue a quivering stomach. Daisuke flailed for something to hold onto, to ground himself, body arching and squirming out of his control. He couldn't tell if he was fighting Ken's touch or trying to get more of it, a sick, cold sort of dread pushing its way up through the hazy sweetness that smothered his thoughts.

He needed to...he needed to do something.

The sharp nip of teeth on his hip bone made Daisuke jump and cry out, jolting him into a half-sitting position. Ken looked up at the motion and smiled, long, pointed white incisors making indents on his vivid lips.

Fangs.

Suddenly, like being doused in ice water, everything in Daisuke's head cleared.

"Get – get away from me!" he said in a choked yell, thrashing and kicking against the vampire. He made brief contact with Ken's eyes, flashing with fury and the pupils shrunk to near invisibility in rings of deep purple.

"Soon."

Then the vampire was gone, leaving the room cold and empty in his wake.

* * *

"And so you rushed over here to tell me about how you almost got raped," Takeru asked, both eyebrows raised as he stared at Daisuke. He cradled his chin in one hand, the picture of sardonic disbelief.

"Because I thought you'd care about how close I'd come to being killed, thank you very much," Daisuke corrected him with a scowl and set aside his empty plate. Talking and eating had taken away the paleness of his skin and returned him to his usual bluster. "And to warn you to be careful!"

Takeru started to laugh and was cut off by a yawn. It was much too late to be up, especially on a school night. "Daisuke, I promise to be very careful when dreaming about being violated by vampires—"

"I'm being serious, you jerk!" Daisuke said and lounged forward to take Takeru's shoulders. Takeru brought up his hands to stave off being shaken to pieces again, but Daisuke ignored the motion. "Carry a crucifix and a clove of garlic with you at all times, don't go out alone at night, and if you see that guy anywhere, even if it's just in a vision, you tell me right away! For real, okay?"

"All right, all right!" Takeru said, feeling like he was in more danger from acting like an idiot than he was the evil undead. Still, in the end it was easier to just give in to what Daisuke wanted. It lowered the overall annoyance factor. "I think you're more insane than usual, but I promise to have a cross and garlic on me – for _one_ _week."_

He held up a finger for emphasis. He may be agreeing to act like a moron to comfort his friend, but he wasn't about to do it forever. Daisuke grinned in sheer relief and nodded. "Awesome! That should be enough time for the vampire to give up and leave us alone!"

Daisuke bounced to his feet; ruffling both hands through his hair so that it stuck out at all angles like a distressed hedgehog. "I'm going to go back to bed. Remember, tell me if you see the freak at all. He'll probably go after you next!"

"Daisuke," Takeru said with more patience than he felt, "How am I supposed to know what he looks like?"

"I told you, he's _that_ guy," Daisuke said, gathering up both of their plates and forks to take back to the kitchen, "You know, Ken! The guy I ran into on the stairs a few days ago," he clarified when Takeru continued to look blank.

The blonde leaned back against the headboard and frowned. "I have no idea who you're talking about."

Daisuke paused and Takeru say the same fear as earlier flash across his face. "Purple eyes. He's got purple eyes."

"So avoid boys with fangs and purple eyes," Takeru said lightly, mildly disturbed at how deeply this was affecting Daisuke, "Should be tough seeing as how our school is swarming with them. I'll do my best."

Daisuke let out a grateful laugh and grinned brightly. "See you tomorrow," he said, heading for the door.

Takeru waved half-heartedly and began to scoot down under the cover to return to his interrupted sleep, when he remembered something. "Hey!" he shouted after the other boy's retreating back, "How did you get into my house Daisuke? The door is locked."

"Dude," came the distant answer, "I stole your keys three months ago and made copies during shop."

"You did _what_?" Takeru scrambled out of bed, but Daisuke had already made his escape.


End file.
